Let’s kick off our NBA Draft coverage by recapping what’s been going on between the 6th and 10th pick this decade. The Raptors are currently slated to draft 8th and even though the team’s playing terrible I don’t see them falling below OKC and upping their odds to draft 5th. Obviously the lottery can change things but for a moment let’s assume everything works out according to the percentages and the Raptors draft where they’re supposed to draft. You’ll find that there’s plenty to be had if a GM has done his scouting. Some of the better players drafted in those spots this decade are D.J Augustin, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Andrew Bynum, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Chris Kaman, Amare Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Caron Butler, Shane Battier and Joe Johnson. Only twice in this time span has the consensus best player been drafted between 6-10 and those two are Roy and Stoudemire.

DraftExpress.com has us currently drafting 6’2″ Wake Forest PG Jeff Teague as the eighth pick. NBADraft.net has us selecting Arizona swingman Chase Budinger. In the weeks to come we’ll be looking at possible selections such as James Harden, Al-Farouq Aminu, Gerald Henderson and my dark horse Evan Turner of Ohio St along with many more. Go ahead and make an early call as to who you think might help the Raptors. My early pick is USC swingman Demar DeRozan. For now, let’s just look back and recap.